Love, Loss and Mourning Paul Auster, with Siri Hustvedt

In this poignant episode of Intelligence Squared, acclaimed novelist and essayist Siri Hustvedt reflects on her 43-year marriage to the late writer Paul Auster through her deeply personal memoir, Ghost Stories. The conversation, hosted by Maithili Rao, traces their meeting in 1981 at a poetry reading in New York, their shared life as obscure artists navigating rejection and creative devotion, and the profound intimacy forged through mutual admiration of each other’s work. Hustvedt explores the dual grief of losing Auster to cancer and earlier losing their stepson Daniel to a drug overdose, revealing how she wove these tragedies into a narrative that honors both love and loss. She discusses the book’s innovative structure—using letters, fragments, and prose blocks—to mirror the fragmented nature of memory and mourning. Throughout, Hustvedt emphasizes the resilience found in routine, the power of shared inner lives, and the importance of humor and connection in the face of despair. The episode culminates in a meditation on how personal grief intersects with political dread in a fractured world, urging readers to resist despair through continued engagement with life’s rhythms and forms.